Page 40 of The Betas: Rene
Meg brought Martin a Coke. He sipped, then answered Frankie. “You will be taken from The Alpha’s house by the same four Enforcers that brought you before the Alpha. They will escort you to René. He will formally greet and receive you from the custody of the four Enforcers. Before you enter his home, he will ask you if the Enforcers guarded you well and if you come to him unbitten?”
“How could I be bitten by someone else on my way from The Alpha’s house two hundred feet away from ours?” Frankie narrowed his eyes.
“The pack didn’t always live in a compound, and the Alphas didn’t always live in the city. At one time the loup garou were all farmers, trappers, or fur traders in Canada and the Northern United States. The distance between The Alpha’s and his Beta’s homes was sometimes measured in miles not feet.”
“How could the Betas guard The Alpha and The Alpha Mate efficiently if they weren’t on the site?”
“They couldn’t. It was decided by the ruling Council in my parents’ generation that the Alphas on the Council would have to provide a living wage for his Betas so that they would be able to do their job. It used to be that a Beta had to earn a salary to support his family. There was no Garou Industries to support the packs. Garou didn’t start paying dividends until eighteen twenty and then it was a pittance. For The Alpha and my parents, it was different.”
“How?” Frankie finished another taco. Meg served some nachos, and he began to make inroads into the huge pile of meat, beans, chips, hot peppers, avocado, and sour cream with salsa.
“Our parents didn’t stay on the farm. They sought an education and made wise investments. They, along with Armand’s, bought the row houses on Washington Square when they were built in eighteen thirty-two. They were in Paris at the time and bought the homes via an agent.”
“Where were you and René born?”
“At your house in Washington Square. It’s but one of the properties René and I own in Manhattan. René and I were born at home on February twenty-first, eighteen sixty-five. René and I are fraternal twins. The old Alpha decided that René and I were Betas to Armand’s Alpha when we were fifteen. After that, we all received a specific education and training for our jobs. Over the years, we have accumulated various other degrees besides our Beta education.”
“When was it decided that the Betas would live close to their Alpha?” Frankie got back to his original subject.
“This came after a pack wanted a Beta to get the death sentence because an unknown party killed their Alpha.” Martin sighed.
“That wasn’t fair.” Frankie raised his voice, afraid something like that could happen to René. It dawned on him how fair The Alpha had been about The Alpha Mate’s kidnapping. The Alpha could have had them executed. Instead, he took some of the blame.
“No, it wasn’t. That’s why the law was enacted by the Council.”
“I’m sorry. My brain is all over the place. Back to the mating. What comes after his greeting and his asking me if I’ve been ravished? When do we get to the good part?” Frankie grinned to belie the seriousness of the conversation.
“The two of you will be alone in the house. The Enforcers will stand guard for the night, two at the front door and two at the back, ensuring that no one enters or leaves the premises, save for the Beta and his Fated Mate. In the morning, the Enforcers will escort you and René back to the pack house where you will display René’s mark. The showing is followed by a feast catered by the pack under the direction of the Alpha Bitch.” Martin chuckled. “I’m sure the feast will be legendary. René and Lillian have been friends since they were kids.”
“How do I show the mark?”
“The Alpha will give you a boat necked T-shirt tonight. You will bring the shirt you want to wear to the party and Annie will hold it for you. The pack examines your mark in order of precedence. First, The Alpha and The Alpha Mate, then the First Beta, followed by the pack Betas, their Mates, and then the Alpha Bitch, her Mate and the pack members by age, the oldest first. Counting our group of fifteen, we have one hundred in the pack. They can, in this pack only, touch the mark with the tip of a finger.”
“Why did you say in this pack only?” Frankie quickly picked up from Martin’s tone that this touching of the mark was highly unusual.
“Because once we had a blind Alpha. The Alpha lost his sight in battle with a rogue loup garou who terrorized the human countryside. Despite his blinding, he continued to fight. When the battle was over, the pack refused to replace him. He still needed to be able to verify marks, so it became customary for the pack to touch marks. In every other pack in North America, it’s forbidden. The Alpha had fits when the pack touched Sean, but you can’t buck over eight hundred years of tradition.”
“I see.” Frankie swallowed hard. He wanted to make his wolf proud.
Martin patted Frankie’s shoulder. “You will do just fine.” He and Edward excused themselves and left the kitchen.
Meg brought Frankie eight lemon bars, and by the time he finished, the four Enforcers were at the kitchen door ready to take him to The Alpha. He took a deep breath, his stomach knotting.What if I’m not worthy of my Mate?
